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Plumas County, California
Plumas County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. The county gets its name from the Spanish words for the Feather River (Río de las Plumas), which flows through the county. As of 2000, the population was 20,824. The county seat is Quincy. The only incorported city in the county is Portola. History The Spanish originally called one of the tributaries of the Sacramento River El Rio de las Plumas or the "River of Feathers." The Legislature, in creating this county, gave it the name "Plumas" because all of the numerous branches of the Feather River have their origins in its mountains. Law and government Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,769 km² (2,613 sq mi). 6,614 km² (2,554 sq mi) of it is land and 155 km² (60 sq mi) of it (2.29%) is water. Plumas County has numerous lakes and streams which are renowned for their fishing. Outdoor activities are a major tourist draw. Cities and towns *Almanor *American House *Beckwourth *Belden *Blairsden *Buckeye *Bucks Lake *Canyondam *Caribou *Cascade *Chester *Chilcoot-Vinton *Clear Creek Junction *Clio *Crescent Mills *C-Road *Cromberg *Delleker *Drakesbad *East Quincy *East Shore *Feather River Park *Five Points *Gate Place *Genesee *Graeagle *Greenhorn *Greenville *Hamilton Branch *Haven *Hot Springs *Indian Falls *Iron Horse *Johnsville *Keddie *La Porte *Lake Almanor Country Club *Lake Almanor Peninsula *Lake Almanor West *Lake Davis *Little Grass Valley *Longville *Massack *Meadow Valley *Mohawk Vista *Palmetto *Paxton *Plumas Eureka *Portola *Prattville *Prospect *Quincy *Rock Creek *Seneca *Sloat *Spanish Ranch *Spring Garden *Storrie *Taylorsville *Tobin *Twain *Two Rivers *Valley Ranch *Vinton *Whitehawk Designated areas *Butterfly Valley Botanical Area *Elephants Playground *Happy Valley *Little Last Chance Canyon Special Interest Area *North Valley *Valley Creek Special Interest Area Water areas *Antelope Lake *Belden Forebay *Bucks Lake (reservoir) *Butt Valley Reservoir *Davis, Lake *Doyle Reservoir *Eureka Lake *Faggs Debris Dam *Faggs Reservoir *Frenchman Lake *Grizzly Forebay *Grizzly Ice Pond *Lake Almanor *Little Grass Valley Reservoir *Lower Bucks Lake *Onion Valley Reservoir *Rock Creek Reservoir *Round Valley Reservoir *Silver Lake *Slate Creek Reservoir *Smith Lake *Three Lakes *Walker Mine Tailings Reservoir Adjacent counties * Sierra County - south * Yuba County - southwest * Butte County - west * Tehama County - northwest * Shasta County - northwest * Lassen County - north, east Transportation Infrastructure Major highways * California State Route 36 * California State Route 49 * California State Route 70 * California State Route 89 * California State Route 284 Public Transit Plumas Transit Systems provides local service in Quincy and routes to Chester and Portola. Limited service is available to Chico (Butte County) and Reno. Airports Gansner Field is a general aviation airport located near Quincy. Rogers Field is located near Chester; in addition to its civil-aviation role it also serves as the Chester Air Attack Base, a logistical & coordination facility for the California Department of Forestry's aerial firefighting (both fixed-wing and helicopter). Resources include fueling, retardant loading, communications, and some quartering for aircrew and ground fire-fighting teams. Economy Demographics As of the census² of 2000, there were 20,824 people, 9,000 households, and 6,047 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/km² (8/sq mi). There were 13,386 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (5/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 91.78% White, 0.62% Black or African American, 2.55% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 2.61% from two or more races. 5.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.1% were of German, 15.0% English, 10.1% Irish and 8.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 95.4% spoke English and 3.6% Spanish as their first language. There were 9,000 households out of which 26.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.80% were non-families. 27.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.77. In the county the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 22.60% from 25 to 44, 30.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,351, and the median income for a family was $46,119. Males had a median income of $38,742 versus $25,734 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,391. About 9.00% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.70% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over. Politics Plumas is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Plumas is part of California's 4th congressional district, which is held by Republican John Doolittle. In the state legislature, Plumas is part of the 3rd Assembly district, which is held by Republican Rick Keene, and the 1st Senate district, which is held by Republican Dave Cox. Media The primary local news source since 1866 is Feather Publishing Co., Inc. at plumasnews.com, four Plumas County newspapers published every Wednesday. Colleges and universities *Feather River College Miscellaneous topics (Sports teams and similar lists) * The town of Portola is home to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum, one of the largest railroad museums in North America. The WPRM is one of the major tourist draws in the county. * The town of Chester is home to the Collins Pine Museum, a building completed in 2007, dedicated to preserving and educating about the history of the Collins Pine Company's logging activities in the Chester region. References *Plumas County, California See also *List of school districts in Plumas County External links *Official County of Plumas website *Plumas County News *Plumas political entities Category:Counties of California Category:Plumas County, California